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The United Nations is a global organisation that was established in 1945. The United Nations, which now has 193 member states, is driven by the goals and ideals outlined in its charter. The United Nations has changed over time to keep up with a continuously changing globe. But one thing hasn’t changed: it’s still the only place on Earth where all nations can come together to debate common issues and create solutions that benefit everyone.
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The main objective of the United Nations is to ensure peace and security throughout, but in addition to this, the United Nations also help the countries in developing friendly relations with each other based on respect. They also work towards achieving worldwide cooperation to solve international, humanitarian, and socio-cultural problems. The United Nations had over 190 member states by the early twenty-first century.
The founders of the United Nations thought that maintaining international security and peace would lead to managing armaments and, eventually, their reduction. As a result, the General Assembly is empowered by the Charter to study disarmament and arms control principles and offer recommendations to the Security Council and member states. The Security Council is also tasked under the Charter with developing plans for disarmament and arms control.
India and the UN
In October 1945, two years before gaining independence from the British Raj, India became a founding member of the United Nations. It began to raise concerns about disarmament, colonialism, and racial discrimination in 1946. It was at the forefront during the UN’s stormy years of combat against colonialism and apartheid. Throughout India’s history, representation in the UNSC seat has become a significant part of the country’s foreign policy. India has served on the United Nations Security Council seven times as a non-permanent member.
It has also advocated for a permanent place as part of a reconstituted UNSC as a member of the G-4 (together with Germany, Brazil, and Japan) in recent decades. While India’s current claim to permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council reflects its status as a demographic behemoth and nuclear power, it has profound historical origins. The United Nations membership was crucial to Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s vision of India as an internationalist and contemporary nation-state, as well as the values of anti-imperialism and self-determination that he saw as essential for the future of India and Asia. He felt that, just as the state could unite Indian politics, the UNSC seat could build international stability by persistent discourse and dedication to international justice.
Historical Perspective of India
India was one of the United Nations’ select members who signed the UN Declaration in Washington in January 1942 and attended the landmark UN Conference on International Organisations in San Francisco from April 25 to June 26, 1945. India, being a liberal democracy, has a long and illustrious history of contributing more personnel to UN peacekeeping than any other country. Since 1948, about 244,500 Indians have served in 49 of the 71 UN peacekeeping operations that have been formed worldwide.
Contribution of India to the United Nations
India has played a significant influence in UN reforms. Being a liberal democracy, many reforms, such as the abolition of colonialism and apartheid, have been fuelled by it. It has always taken a strong stance on issues of public interest while also speaking out on global issues. In 1950-51, India mediated the proposals calling for an end to hostilities in the Korean War and support to the Republic of Korea as a liberal democracy and President of the United Nations Security Council. India was a co-sponsor of UN Resolution 238 in 1967-68, which extended the mandate of the United Nations mission in Cyprus.
From 1972 to 73, India fought hard for Bangladesh’s admission to the United Nations membership. A permanent member’s veto prevented the resolution from being adopted. India had a powerful voice for Africa in the UNSC seat in 1977-78, speaking out against apartheid. In 1978, then External Affairs Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee spoke at the United Nations Security Council in support of Namibia’s independence. In 1984-85, India was a strong advocate for resolving disputes in the Middle East, particularly in Palestine and Lebanon, before the United Nations Security Council. PM P V Narasimha Rao addressed the United Nations Security Council’s first-ever plenary session in 1991-92 about the UNSC’s role in maintaining peace and security. India was a strong vice president for the developing world, counter-terrorism, peacekeeping, and Africa in 2011-2012. The first remark on Syria was made during India’s UNSC seat presidency.
India participated actively in debates on all matters of world security and peace, including various new difficulties that the UN Security Council was asked to address in Afghanistan, Iraq, Côte d’Ivoire, Libya, Syria, South Sudan, and Yemen. Due to the threat of piracy off the coast of Somalia to international security and trade, India urged international collaboration against the pirates. At the United Nations, India is well-liked and supported, and it has been elected to various UN bodies. India has been elected to the Human Rights Council (HRC), International Narcotics Control Board, United Nations Board of Auditors, Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), International Court of Justice (ICJ), Joint Inspection Unit (JIU), International Law Commission (ILC), and International Law commission in recent years. India is now represented in 22 UN bodies.
Conclusion
India is a strong supporter of UN reforms and reorganisation to better equip the organisation to respond to the changing demands of its members, particularly developing countries. India promotes a comprehensive approach to human rights that emphasises interconnectedness, interdependence, the university of human rights, and indivisibility. India’s perspective emphasises the interconnectedness of development, democracy, human rights, and international development cooperation. Since its inception, India has made significant contributions to the United Nations’ goals by speaking out against colonialism and inequality and by participating actively in peace operations. Furthermore, it is the world’s biggest democracy and, through its global powers, can effectively manage international cooperation duties. Most critically, India has been battling for democracy at the UNSC Seat for a long time.
